ArtScape: The issue of free expression, and whether there should be limits on it in a democracy, couldn't be hotter than it is now.
Thankfully, if people are offended by anything seen on paper, screen or stage in Ireland, they express that feeling without resorting to violence, riots and killing. So those who followed the case of the "wee-wee" at the Project a couple of years ago will be interested to see that Jérôme Bel is returning to the International Dance Festival Ireland (IDFI) this April.
Jérôme Bel’s eponymous 2002 performance at the dance festival involved nudity and urination, and later a
Raymond Whitehead took a case against the festival on the basis that the show had not been advertised as one that could possibly cause offence.
When the case came to court in 2004, Whitehead’s claim for damages was dismissed but, rather unfairly, the dance festival had to find €10,000 to pay its costs. It may have been amusing to watch people get their knickers in a twist about such a wee matter (sorry), but in fact the financial impact of the case being brought against them was serious for the IDFI.
That €10,000 probably represents one or more elements of this year's festival, which runs from April 21st to May 7th (www.dance festivalireland.ie).
It is good, therefore, to see Bel’s return, and the possible revisiting of some of the issues not properly dealt with in the court case. At the festival, he’ll present Pichet Klunchun and Myself (2005), a theatrical and choreographic meeting with Thai classical dance artist Pichet Klunchun.
And, in association with Critical Voices 3, Bel will also give a public interview on Wednesday, April 26th, at Project.
Galway’s own free-for-all
Festival rumblings in Galway continue apace, with the anarchists’ grouping (only joking!) shaping up to create a fringe-type event to run from July 18th to 29th alongside the long-established Galway Arts Festival (GAF).
The Project 06 group has sprung up in recent weeks to ask the public: "What sort of Arts Festival do you want?" The loose grouping says it aims "to re-ignite the city with the feeling that the arts are truly our own . . . and infuse events with fun, spontaneity and street activity".
Following mumblings of discontent last year about the festival not being what it used to be, some arts people in Galway got together and this "one-year project" is the result.
A website (www.project06.com) was launched this week and an open public meeting has been scheduled at the Great Southern Hotel at 8pm on Monday, February 27th to discuss the reasons behind the project and how it should develop.
Galway Youth Theatre, which has been in the GAF programme for some years, plans two shows as part of Project 06. Director Andrew Flynn says: "In the absence of an invitation to perform at this year’s Galway Arts Festival, Galway Youth Theatre are delighted to accept the invitation to be an integral part of Project 06."
The essential difference about Project 06, however, is that it is a come-all-ye, it will not be programmed or curated, as GAF has always been. Instead, anyone can take part in Project 06 if they can get the money and a venue together. This is much the same as what happens (but at a macro level) in Edinburgh, where the free-for-all fringe, with hugely variable acts – and standards – exists alongside the curated Edinburgh International Festival.
And although one assumes that incoming GAF director Paul Fahy (whose 2006 programme is still a secret) could well do without this coming to a head in his first year, he says he has absolutely no problem with Project 06, and supports it as a welcome platform to show more local work. GAF, he points out, has always had a selection process and always will.
Meantime, Diarmuid de Faoite (actor, and director of POC productions, whose Paris Texas has been in GAF) is to represent Project 06 on TG4's Ardán tonight.
Of course, GAF hasn’t stayed the same as it was years ago – and people would complain if it did. The operation is bigger, more professional, has more international work. It is surely a healthy sign that Galway people and artists feel such passionate engagement with what is the biggest multi-disciplinary arts festival in the country. And if it results in a lively fringe event, everyone could be winners.
‘Wing’ writer plans go west
Fans of The West Wing have double cause to be downcast. Not only has the show been axed, but the intriguing prospect of an Abbey premiere of The Farnsworth Invention, by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, has disappeared.
The play was conceived three years ago when the then Abbey commissioning manager, Jocelyn Clarke, cold-called Sorkin. Amazingly, Sorkin agreed to write what would be his first script in 17 years (since A Few Good Men on Broadway) and the result was a historical drama about the 1930s battle between amateur scientist Philo T Farnsworth and RCA tycoon David Sarnoff over the patent for the technology that allowed the first TV transmissions.
The play was due to premiere at the Abbey next year, but Fiach MacConghail has pulled out of involvement with the play as he feels the Abbey isn’t ready to devote the time, energy and resources needed for a transatlantic project.
MacConghail is being cautious, and wants to re-engage with the Irish theatre community first, a spokeswoman said.
A workshop production of Farnsworth will run at California’s La Jolla Playhouse from February 13th to March 18th next year, directed by La Jolla’s DesMcAnuff.
"I completely understand their decision," Sorkin says, according to Karen Fricker, who reported the story in Variety this week. "While The Farnsworth Invention will now premiere in the US, I hope I’ll be invited to open a new play in Dublin in the future."
Launching the Ark
The Ark launched its spring programme in its delightful third-floor space this week, writes Sylvia Thompson. The impressively diverse programme of events spans literature, visual art, theatre, music and dance. It was also a launch of sorts for the Ark's new (-ish) director, Eina McHugh, who has been finding her feet over the last six months.
McHugh, whose previous credits include Cinemagic, Northern Ireland’s children's film festival, spoke of her joy in heading up what is still a relatively rare world phenomenon: a cultural centre exclusively dedicated to children. The Ark’s chairman, Ronan Smith, said the spring programme represented a new departure for the Ark as its enters its second decade.
"We have a new commitment to partnerships and a vision of how the Ark can be a catalyst and innovator," he said. "Part of our work is also to encourage artists to work with children." The first event of the programme is Read All Over, a series of author readings (and chats) and illustration workshops on Saturday next. www.ark.ie
• Following Dermot Bolger’s The Fortunestown Kid on BBC Radio 4 this week, other drama with an Irish interest coming up on Radio 4 includes One Foot in the Cuckoo's Nest (next Tuesday, 2.15pm), by Irish comedian Ian McPherson and Scottish poet Magi Gibson, a tale of two codger-like hacks, the Edinburgh-based correspondent of the fictitious Irish Mail (played by McPherson) and a Scottish pal.
Meanwhile, from the archives, there’s Mr McNamara, a William Trevor adaptation starring TPMcKenna, on BBC World Service this day week at 6.30pm.
• Culture Ireland’s first allocation of funding to support Irish arts abroad awarded grants worth close to ¤1 million, out of the agency’s 2006 budget of ¤3 million. So, on the face of it, it doesn’t look like there’ll be much left in the kitty, unless a top-up is hoped for.
• The grants awarded include: €180,053 for Druid Theatre Company towards performing DruidSynge in the US; €171,000 for Ireland Literature Exchange for translating Irish literature; €90,000 for Coisceimfor performing Knots at Edinburgh Fringe Festival; €71,236 for Opera Theatre Company to perform at three UK festivals; €53,650 for Pan Pan Theatre towards touring a new production, Oedipus Loves You, in Canada; €40,000 for Rough Magic's Seeds programme to help young artists to work abroad; €20,000 for the Rubicon Gallery to participation in five international art fairs; €20,000 for Camerata Ireland for performances in Europe; and €15,000 for the Greater London Authority towards Irish participation in the St Patrick's Day Festival. The agency will next meet in May and the closing date for applications, by artists, performers or event organisers, is April 15th.